The military needs to finish preparations before testing its new landing platform dock with helicopters, it said yesterday.
Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major General Shih Shun-wen (史順文) said that the military would first assess the differences between helicopters deployed by each branch of the armed forces before preparing drills, without elaborating.
Shih made the remarks after the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee last month adopted a nonbinding resolution asking the ministry to have the army, navy and air force conduct landing and takeoff drills with helicopters on the domestically developed ROCN Yushan (玉山).
Photo: CNA
The Yushan is the first of four indigenous landing platform docks being built by local shipbuilder CSBC Corp, Taiwan. It was christened and launched in April last year, but remains in testing and has not yet been handed over to the navy.
The ship is scheduled to enter service later this year.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ma Wen-chun (馬文君), who initiated the resolution, yesterday wrote on Facebook that she wanted to know that the ship could handle helicopter landings, which is why she proposed that the ministry conduct drills.
The Yushan project cost taxpayers NT$7 billion (US$253.33 million), and the military needs to ensure it meets the navy’s requirements, she wrote.
The 153m long, 23m wide vessel, with a maximum speed of 21 knots (39kph) and range of 11,265km, can carry several amphibious assault vehicles and 673 soldiers. It also has two hangars to accommodate military helicopters.
A military official said that landing a helicopter on an amphibious transport dock is one of the most challenging tasks for pilots and the ship’s crew because they have to consider the speeds of the ship and aircraft, as well as the tide and wind.
More “long-term preparations” are needed before actual drills can be conducted, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Once in service, the Yushan will replace the ROCS Hsu Hai dock landing ship, which first entered service with the US Navy as the USS Pensacola in 1971, before it was decommissioned and transferred to Taiwan in 1999.
The Yushan would be responsible for transporting supplies and personnel to outlying islands, and participate in humanitarian aid missions, the ministry said.
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